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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24974869">Final Tableau</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/XdeadhumanX/pseuds/XdeadhumanX'>XdeadhumanX</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hannibal (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Death, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, i nearly cried while writing this, it really does look black in the moonlight, this is their final stand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:02:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>603</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24974869</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/XdeadhumanX/pseuds/XdeadhumanX</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal and Will have been caught. This is their final stand.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Will Graham &amp; Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Final Tableau</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was inspired by a texpost on tumblr from felineladyy and majorbitchwillgraham!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This is it. This is what the years of yearning, pain, betrayal, and unconventional love have come to. The end is near, and it will be one to remember. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’ve been found. Surrounded by police cars and officers on a snowy deserted road in Wolftrap Virginia, Hannibal and Will stand side by side amid the falling crystals. Both men have ornate knives gripped in their hands, waiting to be used. But not on the police. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drop the weapons!”, one of the many officers shouts, pistol out and aimed at Will and Hannibal, just like the rest of the people clad in blue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Will raises his free hand, reaching for Hannibal, and shots are fired. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bullets pierce flesh and break bone, blood splattering and staining the still-falling snow. None of the shots were lethal, though both Hannibal and Will are now severely wounded. Even so the officers stay where they are after they cease fire, afraid to approach two of the FBI’s most wanted men. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chests heaving and blood dripping, their breath clouding the air in front of them, Hannibal and Will turn to face each other. The two are kneeling on the pavement and clutching onto one another, fists gripping onto the fabric of each other’s jackets. Eyes locked they each tighten their grips on the blades. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like this is the end,” Will rasps, tears unbidden welling up in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hannibal’s lips twitch up at the corners as he raises a bloody hand, placing it on Will’s cheek. No rounds are fired this time. “Indeed it does. Your becoming, your final acceptance of me, has brought us to this moment here. Blood glowing black in the moonlight, reflecting in your eyes,” he murmurs, thumbing away a tear that’s rolled down Will’s cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My becoming sealed my fate with you. In a last ditch attempt to avoid that fate, I threw us off the bluff. It didn’t work.” Will’s lips form into a smile, and tears begin flowing freely down his cold-reddened cheeks. “And for that I am grateful.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tears now well up in Hannibal’s eyes as he slides his hand to the back of Will’s head, tenderly stroking the soft curls there. “As am I. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aš myliu tave, Will</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Will’s gloved hand trembles as he tightens his grip on the knife and places his other hand behind Hannibal’s head. Tears still flowing, the man utters, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Aš myliu tave, Hannibal.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blood stained lips lock in a tender kiss, empty hands tangle in hair and metal glints in the moonlight as the knives are sheathed between ribs. Hannibal and Will, their eyes squeezed shut, simultaneously rip the blades from each other's bodies and let them clatter to the asphalt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blood gushes black onto the snow and leaks from between mouths connected. The light soon fades from closed eyes, and as they go limp and collapse, they still embrace one another. Arms wrapped around each other’s bloody bodies, hands tangled in each other’s hair and tears staining their reddened cheeks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⸺</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Freddy Lounds writes for TattleCrime.com, ‘Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham killed each other. Stabbed one another through the heart simultaneously, and they died kissing each other. Their last words were reported to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aš myliu tave — I love you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ In all her years of capturing crime scenes, this is the only one Freddy has openly wept at.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack Crawford retired definitively from the FBI. The case of the Chesapeake Ripper and Will Graham was the last one the man could stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Will and Hannibal went down in history together, their names forever known.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their end was special.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their end was their final tableau. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aš myliu tave is Lithuanian!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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